Competence and transfer center for collaborative robots inaugurated in Biel

Robots that support us very closely and flexibly in our daily work have not yet arrived in our everyday lives. The Swiss manufacturing industry in particular could receive a competitive boost from robotic helpers, but despite technological progress, collaborative robots are still the exception in Swiss factories. The Swiss Cobotics Competence Center (S3C) aims to close this gap between new technological skills and industrial reality and thus help collaborative robots to find broad industrial application.

Start-ups among the members

For this purpose, at the location of the Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne (SIPBB) in Biel, corresponding competencies are bundled in the S3C and an open test and demonstration center for collaborative robotics is set up. The S3C is supported by the Swiss Smart Factory, BFH, EPFL, ETH Zurich, as well as further 14 academic partners and over 18 partners from the industry and from all parts of Switzerland, who have joined together to form a public-private partnership. Industry partners include start-ups such as Aica and VU Engineering as well as SMEs and groups for example Siemens.

With the S3C, a central point of contact for Swiss industry is to be created on the subject of collaborative robotics. The focus is initially set on the four application areas: precision and watchmaking industry, machine tool industry, medical technology and laboratory automation.

The S3C is a research institution of national importance and is being funded as part of the "Advanced Manufacturing Technology Transfer Centers" (AM-TTC) initiative for the years 2022-2024 with funds from the ETH Board as well as from the Federal Department for Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER).

(Press release / SK)